Excerpts from Reviews
"The Durham Symphony doesn't mess around when it picks its annual young artists competition winners. Nope, this orchestra brings its "discoveries" front and center, featuring them in regular subscription concerts...The program then got underway with a stirring rendition of Mendelssohn's "Hebrides" or "Fingal's Cave" Overture, a score that contains many of the master's most recognizable fingerprints. The Durham Symphony is an outstanding community orchestra, and there were few glitches in the overture, wherein the ensemble's strong string sections made consistently favorable impressions in their admirable support of nicely managed wind and brass sections."
"...the concert ended with Dvorák's wonderful Symphony No. 8, in G, Op. 88, the last save one of the Bohemian master's large orchestral works...There was admirable work from the woodwinds and horns and brasses, and the strings continued to excel. Neilson paced the score nicely, and at the conclusion, the hall erupted with applause."
"But the main focus of the evening was on the two soloists, winners of the orchestra's concerto competition held on October 7... violinist Eliza Bagg, a student of Eric Pritchard, is 16, and cellist Alan Toda-Ambaras, a student of Leonid Zilper, is 15. It was ladies first, and Bagg played the opening movement of Sibelius' Violin Concerto, a work that separates sheep from goats among world-class players."
"Then Toda-Ambaras essayed the second movement of Prokofiev's stunning Sinfonia concertante, Op. 125...it was astonishing to hear this young cellist take on the difficult and demanding music — as if it were, literally, child's play...This was a powerhouse performance that made one regret that only one part of this great 20th-century score was performed."
"At the end of the concert, the two winners were awarded plaques and the entire audience was treated to a reception in the lobby — one more example of what a great deal our community orchestras are for music lovers throughout the region."
"The orchestra is a true treasure, and the fact that it's better now than ever provides more than ample reason for celebration."
"The DSO gave a glowing account of the marvelous work [Dvorak's "New World" Symphony]. The strings were for the most part exceptionally full and rich and unified"
"The Concerto in d minor is a minor miracle of tight coordination of the solo instrument with the orchestra, and with [Gentry] Lasater's winning playing and the solid support provided by Neilson and the DSO, the results were terrific. Together, they turned an old chestnut into a thing of compelling importance, and everyone was warmly applauded when it ended."
"The playing by the solo artists [DSO members Izabela Cohen and Yang Xi] was stunning and incredibly well matched, and the DSO provided the sort of support that would be eye- (and ear-) catching in any major metropolitan music center. It was that good, and everything about it was of comparable quality — balance, blend, dynamic shading, etc. 'Incredible' might raise suspicion among war-weary music vets, but it applies here"
"The DSO played it [the Miaskovsky Symphony #21] like some of the majors play Shostakovich, and the crowd responded with keen enthusiasm to the passionately committed performance."
"The DSO is good at what it does and gives outstanding musical value for its ridiculously small budget. That's a huge plus. We CVNCers congratulate and thank the Maestro and the DSO and hope for many, many more years of music making in our midst."
Durham Symphony Orchestra
PO Box 1993 • Durham, NC 27702
(919) 560-2736 • office@durhamsymphony.org
| Internet hosting provided by: | Durham Symphony programs were made possible in part through gifts to the Durham Arts Council's United Arts Fund and support from the City of Durham. | |
 |
  |